North Dakota State vs. Colorado Buffaloes Preview

The real opening weekend of the college football season has several marquee games to go with some interesting matchups. This one falls into the latter category, mostly because of the constant buzz that surrounds Colorado coach Deion Sanders.

For Sanders, this is a make-or-break season. He took the college football world by storm two years ago, overhauling the roster and using the transfer portal as his personal team building vehicle. His method of team-building worked, but the Buffaloes season went off the rails last year, so he faces a very different challenge in the upcoming season.

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Game Details

Fixture: North Dakota State vs. Colorado Buffaloes

Date and Time: August 29, 2024 @ 8:00 EST

Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, CO

North Dakota State Team Review

If you're assuming this is going to be one of those early CFB David vs. Goliath mismatches, you probably haven't seen North Dakota State in the last couple of years. The Bistons are a tough, well-coached team that plays physical football. They may not be a D-1 school, but they've been a regular in the FCS playoffs for the last couple of years, advancing to the championship in 2022, then to the semifinals in 2023.

They are a team in transition coaching-wise, though. After compiling a 23-7 record in the last two years, Matt Entz took the stepping-stone path to become linebackers coach at USC, so Tim Polasek takes the reins and will make his debut here.

North Dakota State has been so tough against FBS opponents that it's been tough for them to find a matchup. They're 8-4 against FBS schools, with a 6-1 record since 2010. They've beaten Iowa, Minnesota and Kansas during that stretch, so this is no layup game for Colorado.

Colorado Buffaloes Team Review

The spotlight is seemingly always on Sanders with the Buffaloes, but last year the results on the field didn't come anywhere close to matching expectations. After getting off to a 3-0 start, the Buffaloes basically fell apart, losing eight of nine in a stretch that included a six-game losing streak. They finished 1-8 in the Pac-12, so Sanders will be feeling the heat going into this season.

Colorado's biggest problem was protecting Shadeur Sanders, who happens to be the coach's son. To remedy the problem, Deion Sanders made massive changes on the offensive line, once again using the transfer portal to keep Shadeur upright so he can work his magic.

The defense wasn't all that good, either, so Sanders made some serious changes there as well. He now claims he has a half-dozen or so future pros on that side of the ball, but we'll have to see if that's just more Coach Prime hype or a prediction grounded in reality. The defense fell apart regularly against big-time Pac-12 schools last year, so this will be a good early test for them.

Who to Watch

North Dakota State

While the Colorado quarterback will draw most of the attention in this game, don't sleep on Cam Miller. The Bisons quarterback was an FCS star last year, throwing for almost 2700 yards and 19 TDs and just four picks. He also rushed for 645 yards while scoring 13 TDs, so he's a double-threat machine who's on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award for several good reasons.

Colorado Buffaloes

Shadeur Sanders would love to play well enough to be a high NFL draft pick next year, and Deion has spoken extensively about where he'd like his son to go. To get him there, though, the Buffaloes will have to protect him better than they did last year. Sanders is the player to watch, but keep your eyes on Colorado's offensive line to see if they give him time to throw.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough